From one photography collector to another: a venue for thoughtful discussion of vintage and contemporary photography via reviews of recent museum exhibitions, gallery shows, photography auctions, photo books, art fairs and other items of interest to photography collectors large and small.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Auction Results: Contemporary Art Evening and Day Sales, February 12 and 13, 2010 @Phillips London

Photography-wise, Phillips fared the worst of the big three in the recent Contemporary Art sales in London. The auction house's photo results were quite a bit softer than the preceding sales at Sotheby's and Christie's, with the total sale proceeds for photography falling below the estimate range. For a sense of scale, Sotheby's total proceeds for photography earlier in the week were more than four times higher.

The summary statistics for the photography lots in the two sales are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

The top lot by High estimate was lot 6, John Baldessari, Puzzle (Two Views), 1989, at £200000-300000; it was also the top photo outcome of the two sales at £193250. (Image at right, top, via Phillips.)

94.74% of the photo lots that sold had proceeds in or above their estimate. There was only one surprise in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):